The Bait-and-Switch Mortgage Game (And the Call That Exposed It)

It was late 2023 and I heard a few sentences that made me question everything in lending:

“We are going to post a rate online that we have no way of honoring. But that rate will buy you a conversation, and it’s your job to convert. We had legal working double time on the disclaimers to ensure that it’s legal. It’s ugly but this is how the game is played now.”

This was on a recorded, company wide call about inbound leads coming through a popular website where buyers compare rates from multiple lenders.

It was bad then. It’s still bad now.

The truth is, the advertised rate was never real. It just served to buy the conversation, and the fine print was their way to wiggle out once you were on the phone.

Here’s your takeaway. Online rates, floated rates, rates on IG stories are all bait. The real rate will come once you are under contract and on a time crunch.

Want a no BS rate quote? Call me and I’ll tell you where I’d be before you fill out the app. Because I have nothing to hide.

LOs — I know I’m not the only one who got a version of this call. Anyone else?

Blake Hallum | Bridgepoint Mortgage Chandler | NMLS# 1365524